Aug 28 2008
Day 68
It was really nice to wake up in my own bed this morning. Thankfully a good sleep last night helped to see the back of the bug that had affected me yesterday. I didn’t feel hot, weak or in pain so I assume my now strengthened immune system is working well.
I still felt a bit delicate so I have eaten a lot of smoothies today to try and get my digestive system working again.
One of my first jobs today was to check the garden. Since being away my net covered brassicas have been invaded by butterflies and they have laid literally hundreds of eggs that have turned to caterpillers. My plants have been destroyed so it looks like I will be eating shop bought cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli from now on. Trying to be friendly to wildlife I will let them eat on, there is little left to salvage. Whatever is left can go on the compost heap. Lesson learned: next year buy a higher quality finer meshed net!
It is good to get back to some normality. After being on this project for so many weeks prior to going on a family break it has felt awkward not being able to continue it effectively for the last 10 days.
This evening I went for a 22.5 mile cycle ride on my road bike that took 1:23 hours. My rear felt a little tender as I haven’t been on any regular cycles for a while. I am sure that it will soon get used to it again.
It is reassuring to be able to take some regular progress photographs again. I never thought it would be so difficult away from home. It is so convenient to do it at home with space, a tripod, lighting and a fast Apple MacPro computer to process the images afterwards. It is difficult to find space in other people’s homes when you have already overcrowded their house with your presence.
I have just gone to signup for the ‘End to End’ mountain bike challenge and entries are closed. When I looked last the closing date was the 1st September but the website says that due to overwhelming demand they have had to close entries at 600 which is 50% up on last year. I am really disappointed at this but I guess there is always next year, and next year I will be a whole lot lighter and fitter.
